Unease Among the Higher-Ups!

"Hoo..."

Roy exhaled a long, murky breath, then raised his hand to swipe open his interface.

Immediately, an expression of wild ecstasy appeared on his face.

Not only had the original host's obsession dissipated, but it had also provided him with a god-tier item.

Roy was no stranger to this thing!

Back at the very beginning, that was exactly how Roy had obtained the Mera Mera no Mi.

[Lightning Style Chakra Optimization Card: After use, it can optimize Lightning Style to the level of the Goro Goro no Mi's abilities.]

The simple description alone was enough to make Roy's breathing grow rapid.

The Mera Mera no Mi, combined with the Goro Goro no Mi...

If both were fully developed, and he possessed a sufficient amount of chakra.

Wouldn't that make him directly invincible?

It seemed he would need to go and prepare some things to enhance his chakra.

Roy raised his hand, clicked to use the item, and began to ponder.

"Roy!"

Just at that moment, the voice of Jo-ni reached him.

At the same time, both men were each carrying a corpse.

"Alright, no one else should be coming."

"You two lords don't need to maintain your Transformation Jutsu anymore."

Roy looked at the two of them and said with a smile.

"Uh... after so many days, we've gotten used to it."

"You brat, Roy, you really are devious!"

"If it weren't for your plan earlier, I suspect ordinary clansmen might have actually run into trouble facing these scumbags."

As Jo-ni spoke, a puff of smoke emerged.

Immediately, he returned to his original appearance.

"You flatter me, Lord Nagasawa."

"There's no need to bring these two back; just burn them."

"They are merely two members of Root, so they won't be of any use to that guy Danzo."

"I believe you are well aware of how the higher-ups cover for one another, Brother Nagasawa."

Roy said with a smile.

He had gained so much from this outing.

With the obsession gone, Roy was in a very good mood.

"Alright, let's go check on the others first."

"The barrier in the surrounding area has already vanished; let's have the others assemble and prepare to hand over the mission."

Aoshi also chimed in, simultaneously dispelling his own Transformation Jutsu.

That's right, Jo-ni and Aoshi were not ordinary ninjas of the Uchiha clan at all, but rather Uchiha Nagasawa and Uchiha Ryuxi using Transformation Jutsu.

The other three teams also each had an Uchiha jonin present.

"Fine, let's head over there first."

Roy nodded in agreement.

As a ball of flame descended, the two corpses were reduced to ashes.

The morning sun rose, and the Uchiha ninjas arriving for the shift change had already appeared.

After briefly explaining a few precautions, the group returned to the village together.

Because they hadn't eaten or slept well for over ten days, the group went to have some barbecue before returning to their respective residences to rest.

Meanwhile, at Root.

"Kui and Jia have both died."

"We returned the moment we sensed their deaths."

The masked Root member reported the intelligence with lingering fear.

That powerful surge of chakra still made him shudder just thinking about it.

"Hmm?"

"Wasn't the target of those three the squad Roy was in?"

"Tenzo?"

Upon hearing the report, Danzo glanced toward Tenzo standing to the side.

"I did not participate in the battle; my mission was to seal the three of them and bring them back."

"But they failed, so I simply left."

Tenzo spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.

It was as if the ones who had died were not his comrades at all.

"I understand. You may all leave."

Danzo waved his hand.

Hearing this, the group quickly vanished from the room.

One had to know that in Root, mission failure usually resulted in severe punishment.

It was unexpected that he would let them off so easily this time.

It was not that Danzo had suddenly developed a conscience; he simply lacked the energy to deal with them.

The recent behavior of the Uchiha had left him unable to decipher their intentions.

Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, who had previously been close to the Konoha high command, had now gone off to execute a Daimyo escort mission.

What exactly were these fellows...

"Orochimaru, since you've arrived, come out."

While Danzo was deep in thought, he sensed a fluctuation in chakra.

"Lord Danzo, the goods for this month."

Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes revealing a hint of desire.

"Has the time already come?"

"I will arrange for someone to deliver them to you. Come here less often if there is nothing important."

Danzo paused for a moment before speaking with a touch of dissatisfaction.

Orochimaru had also started to become problematic lately.

Not only had his research progress slowed, but he also seemed to be overstepping his bounds.

This only added to the displeasure of an already overwhelmed Danzo.

"Understood."

A giant snake lunged out, swallowed Orochimaru whole, and vanished from the spot.

"Gen-Jia, go and deliver the prepared items to Orochimaru."

"While you're at it, investigate what that fellow has been doing lately!"

Danzo summoned a Root member and issued the orders.

He then fell into silence.

Danzo was not the only one with a headache right now.

There was also the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen!

"Lord Hokage, the Uchiha patrol guards have rotated. Over the past half-month, they have eliminated 47 ninjas attempting to infiltrate Konoha."

"Most of them have identifiable backgrounds, which can be exchanged for a significant amount in bounty rewards."

"The rest are wandering ninjas and mercenaries; according to the patrol guard regulations, these corpses can also be exchanged for bounties."

"The total is... 7.1 million ryo."

An Anbu ninja handed the summary of the earnings from the Uchiha's patrol duty to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He had the money.

Moreover, most of it did not even need to come out of his own pocket.

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen simply did not want to give it to the Uchiha.

Although the Uchiha were the strongest clan in Konoha, they did not have many sources of income.

Aside from the fixed salary of the Military Police Force, they had practically nothing else.

This was because the Uchiha clan disdained taking on those types of missions.

Of course, part of the reason was also that Uchiha Fugaku wanted to conserve the clan's strength.

After all, if the Uchiha clan went out on missions, they would certainly be targeted by many factions.

As for why Uchiha Sasuke was not targeted while performing missions in the original story, it was because the Uchiha had already been exterminated by that time.

Only Uchiha Sasuke remained as the sole survivor.

Coupled with the fearsome reputation of Uchiha Itachi, what faction would be so blind as to go looking for trouble with Sasuke?

But now, things were different.

If the Uchiha were given sufficient financial resources, they would only grow stronger.

By that time, it would slip even further from his control.

Yet, it seemed he had no choice but to pay this money.

"I understand."

"You all handle these matters yourselves."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said, taking a deep drag from his pipe.

His face was etched with hesitation.

Is that fellow Danzo actually capable of pulling this off?

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen only hoped that Danzo could be reliable and stop giving him so much cause for concern.